Prior Art
The invention relates generally to clips used in wastewater treatment tanks, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,935, having a central conical clarifier and a plurality of droplines encircling the clarifier. In such systems, compressed air is generally pumped through the droplines and into the wastewater in the tank in order to foster the growth of aerobic bacteria.
The conical clarifier usually has a lip at its upper edge. This lip rests on a series of brackets placed on the tank walls. A typical bracket used is an L-bracket. The L-bracket consists of two plates whose ends meet at right angles, so that when viewed from the side, the shape resembles the letter L. One plate is attached to the tank walls so that the other plate extends perpendicularly from the walls. The lip rests on the plate extending from the wall.
The droplines in such a system generally extend from a circular feeder, although other configurations are used. The feeder is a pipe ring which is connected to a pressure source. The entire piping system is frequently comprised of 1/2 to 3/4 inch PVC pipe. The droplines, piping with one or more openings near the end, are fluidly connected to the feeder so that when compressed air is pumped into the feeder, it will be emitted from the droplines.
The feeder rests on the L-bracket between the wall and the clarifier lip. The L-bracket contains a hole which is sized to fit a dropline, so that the droplines extend down through an L-bracket to near the bottom of the tank. Pumping air through the droplines causes them to oscillate much like an untended garden hose. This oscillation can cause damage to the droplines and to the fittings which connect the droplines to the circular feeder.
In order to prevent oscillation, the pipe ends are held to the tank walls with a retainer. This retainer comprises a semi-circular ring which fits around the pipe and holds it in place. A problem arises with this retainer because it must be attached to the tank wall below the water line. This often entails using screws or bolts which pass through the tank wall, creating a potential leak. Welding the retainer to the wall can also create a weak spot in the tank wall which can potentially lead to a leak. If adhesives are used to attach the fitting to the tank wall, there is a risk that, over time, the adhesive will give way and allow the dropline to oscillate and potentially damage the system.